As the death of movie star Heath Ledger shocks the world, Brian McIver looks at some of the other stars who went before their time.

After box-office hits and award nominations, the 28-year-old Australian was one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood.

And he is the latest in a seemingly endless succession of talented young actors and musicians who have gone before their time in tragic circumstances. Just last month, former child actor Brad Renfro died, while shining young stars, ranging from River Phoenix to Kurt Cobain and James Dean, have also left us far too early, all in their twenties.

Here are some of the other young talents who passed away far too soon.

BRANDON LEE

THE son of Bruce Lee, who also died young, was killed in terrible and ironic circumstances while filming hit movie The Crow in 1993.

Playing an immortal rock star hunting down gangsters, Lee was killed while filming a shoot-out, when a prop gun loaded with real bullets was fired at him. The bullet hit him in the abdomen and he died in hospital aged just 28.

JIM MORRISON

THE troubled lead singer of The Doors was found dead, apparently of a drugs overdose, in a bathtub in Paris in 1971.

After years of drug abuse, he had split from his iconic Sixties rock band where he had become a huge star with songs such as Light My Fire and LA Woman, to pursue solo projects, and is believed to have taken an overdose of heroin. He was 27.

JANIS JOPLIN

ONE of the leading ladies of Sixties rock, her incredible voice and songwriting made her a music legend, even though she didn't live long enough to enjoy the legacy of her success.

Janis died aged 27 in 1970 after a heroin overdose, and a year later the posthumously released album Pearl became her biggest selling title.

MARC BOLAN

THE British pop star was the frontman of T Rex, famous for hits such as Jeepster and Get It On.

He was one of the pin-ups of Seventies rock and his death shocked the world in 1979.

He was killed in a car crash at the age of 29. He was a passenger in his girlfriend's speeding Mini when it crashed into a tree, killing him instantly.

KURT COBAIN

THE Nirvana frontman was an icon for a generation of teenagers and music fans, and left millions mourning when he killed himself in 1994.

The grunge star had endured a traumatic personal life addled by drug problems and had cancelled a European tour shortly before his death. He was found at his Seattle home, having shot himself, aged 27.

AALIYAH

THE R'n'B star was just breaking into a successful career in movies when she died in a 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas, at 22.

She sold 32million records and had already appeared in hit films Romeo Must Die and Queen Of The Damned.

Her part-filmed role in the Matrix Reloaded sequel was filled by actress Nona Gaye.

JAMES DEAN

AFTER just three movies, Dean had made it to the top of the Hollywood star system in his twenties. After iconic turns in Giant, East Of Eden and Rebel Without A Cause, the Indianaborn pin-up had an amazing future ahead of him, but was killed in a car accident in 1955, aged 24. His Porsche was hit headon by a driver coming the other way.

JIMI HENDRIX

THE master of the electric guitar was one of the biggest rock stars of his generation when he died of a drugs overdose aged just 27.

Tunes such as Hey Joe, Voodoo Chile, Foxy Lady, Purple Haze and The W ind Cries Mary made him an icon for the hippy age, and he was one of the stars of the Woodstock festival. He was found dead in London, believed to have choked on his own vomit after a drink and drugs binge in 1970.

RIVER PHOENIX

THE actor, who had graduated to super-stardom in a series of great movies, was found dead in 1993 outside Johnny Depp's Viper Room nightclub in LA after a drug overdose.

Although reputed to be mostly clean living, Phoenix, star of My Own Private Idaho, had taken a speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin, and died soon afterwards, aged 23.

BRAD RENFRO

BEST known for his role in the John Grisham movie The Client, Tennessee-born Renfro was one of the rising young stars of the Nineties.

He went on to play the young Brad Pitt in the thriller Sleepers until drug problems left him adrift in Hollywood.

He was mounting a comeback before he was found dead last week, aged 25. No cause is yet known.